The RBDA Board was concerned to hear the number of reports from
residents about phone outages this past winter. Attendees at the June
RBDA General Meeting heard from Jason House, a 10-year veteran of
AT&T who is now Area Manager of Network Services for AT&T
(formerly SBC), responsible for the past two years for an area that
stretches from Davenport down to King City and from Hollister to Big
Sur. He tried to answer our community’s questions and concerns about
recent phone outages, but his answers just raised more concerns.

Over the last couple of years, AT&T has ‘upgraded’ their phone
service in Bonny Doon to fiber optics, with the intended benefit of
providing DSL and future digital services such as voice-over-IP.
AT&T has been rolling out this fiber optic system statewide for the
past 10 years.

Prior to the fiber optic system, power to the entire phone system was
generated from a central source, which meant a power outage in Bonny
Doon did not affect phone service. The new infrastructure, however, is
dependent on powered relay stations or "pair gain" units that each draw
power from local power lines. If local power goes out, a backup battery
maintains phone service for up to eight hours. Then the phones go
dead. Anyone who has lived through even a few weeks of winter in
Bonny Doon knows that eight hours of battery backup is a drop in the
bucket. We heard reports of several Bonny Doon residents losing their
phone service for multiple days this winter, one couple for 10 days.

It goes without saying that the loss of reliable phone service for a
remote area like Bonny Doon, which has little cell phone reception, is
a serious loss of connection to outside emergency services, especially
during hazardous storm conditions.

House assured us that AT&T was committed to our community and
understood that phone service equaled safety of life and property. He
said they had a plan. When power goes out locally and battery backup
comes on, an alarm goes off at headquarters (which turns out to be the
Loop Surveillance Center in Illinois) and triggers a service response.
AT&T has staff on call locally 24/7, 365 days a year, to respond to
reported phone outages.

The plan is to send construction trucks equipped with generators to
maintain power at any power gain unit that loses its eight-hour battery
backup. In Bonny Doon, there are over 30 of these power gain units.
House assured us that he had sufficient staff to cover this, and yes,
they willing to sit in their trucks running generators for 72-plus
hours if needed. It seems an unlikely scenario, but further inquiries
with AT&T after the meeting revealed that in the territory House
oversees, Bonny Doon and parts of Big Sur are unique in their
vulnerability to power outages‹good news only in that we don’t have as
much competition for their attention as originally feared.

Although House stated that he was personally aware of every phone
outage in our area this winter, he looked genuinely surprised to hear
the number of complaints about multi-day outages, in particular the
10-day outage reported by one couple attending the meeting.

When people complained about time on hold and difficulties using
AT&T’s automated phone service to report and check on repair
status, House offered his phone number as a direct contact for future
phone outage problems (899-3158 or 521-2093).

The RBDA Board will republish that number in the November Highlander as
well as continue to pursue this issue with House, AT&T, and the PUC
as necessary. As a first step, we need your input to determine
the extent of the problem. Did you experience a phone outage this
winter due to a power outage (e.g., not due to phone lines down)? We’d
love to hear from you. How long did the phone outage last? What was
AT&T’s response time? Did they provide any generator backup for you?

Send us your story by email
(see below for latest email address) or call
Highlander editor Jane Cavanaugh at 469-3751.

Slipsliding Away

The RBDA Board made a formal request that the Board of Supervisors
allocate necessary funds to repair roads in Bonny Doon, which suffered
significant storm damage earlier this year. The County is eligible for
$1 to $2 million dollars or more in state and federal disaster funds,
according to John Presleigh, County Dept. of Public Works assistant
director.

Empire Grade and Smith Grade, both main roads for Bonny Doon, need
serious attention, but only the Empire Grade slippage in Cave Gulch is
currently likely to be repaired this year. Smith Grade has two sections
that are slipping out towards Majors Creek, which is a water supply
stream for the City of Santa Cruz. Any massive bank and road failure
will adversely impact the City’s water supply in this watershed. If not
repaired prior to next winter, enough damage could occur to close Smith
Grade a half-mile in from the Empire Grade end. Presleigh says that the
County had slides on almost 70 roads this winter, and has to give
priority to those where road closure would entrap residents. The County
suffered $15 million in storm damage, but has less than $2 million in
its own budget for repairs. FEMA will pay for up to 75% of repair
costs, the County up to 15%, and the State will probably pay for the
balance, he says.

The Cave Gulch problem on Empire Grade has been ongoing for years, if
not decades, and a permanent fix will be expensive. The Federal Highway
Administration may pay for these repairs, because Empire Grade is
considered a major road. One irony is that if the Highway
Administration decides this is a chronic slide area and the slippage
isn’t just from storm damage, it will be ineligible for their funding,
and the money will have to be found elsewhere. Another irony is that
while FEMA will fund some of the other storm-damaged road repairs, it
will only pay to restore a road, not for a fix which could prevent it
from reoccurring.

Eco Reserve Fire Danger Brushed Off

Working diligently in the hot late spring sun, the California Dept. of
Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) and chainsaw crews from the adult
correctional facility on Empire Grade cleared brush and trees from the
Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve in order to create a fuel break and
reduce the danger of a wildland fire. Val Haley, the Bonny Doon
botanist who has lead Eco Reserve volunteers to maintain and nurture
the Reserve since its creation in 1989, spent many hours working ahead
of the crews to mark the endangered and unique species that crews
should leave in place. The crews worked, as always, under the
watchful eyes of a California Dept. of Corrections officer. Due
to the proximity of the work area to homes, CDC also requested that
local residents be present to add extra security. Many thanks go out to
the Bonny Doon volunteers who generously donated their time over the
weeks the crews worked. We heard enthusiastic reports from some of
these volunteers about how hard and fast the crews worked, and how much
care and attention many of them put into the task. As the dense brush
was cleared, crews took it upon themselves to flag and work around the
endangered species that hadn’t been visible for Val to tag
initially. The community owes a huge thanks to Val and Angela
Peterson of CDF, who played a big part in creating and shepherding the
Vegetation Management Plan through the bureaucratic maze to obtain an
$80,000 grant from the federal government to help pay for the work.

We have been very lucky in Bonny Doon that we haven’t had a significant
wildland fire in nearly 60 years, but the danger is still very high.
Some neighborhoods have organized to reduce the danger by creating
breaks and removing downed wood, but many other neighborhoods have not.
If you live in one of those, it would benefit all of us, you and your
neighbors in particular, if you make the time and effort to do so.

Lockheed Says No to Water Testing

Lockheed Martin has declined a request by CCALM (Community Concerned
About Lockheed Martin) to drill test wells to monitor ground water
quality at their Bonny Doon facility at the end of Empire Grade.
Lockheed continues to assert that there is nothing for local residents
to worry about, although they have no records of disposal practices at
the facility prior to 1984, leaving 26 years of missing information on
waste disposal operations in effect before regulated mandatory
environmental accountability. In a recent letter to CCALM,
Charles Manor, the Strategic Communications Director for Lockheed
Martin stated, "As to your question related to test wells and waste
disposal operations at [Bonny Doon], we feel confident that our
historical knowledge of operations conducted at the facility, along
with the types and amounts of materials that would have been needed to
carry out those operations, obviate the need for additional test wells.
However, in the highly improbable event that any of our neighbors have
experienced any quality problems with their well water and you have
firsthand knowledge of such an occurrence, would you please urge them
to contact us directly so that we might assist them."

Among the chemicals that may have leached into the soil at the Bonny
Doon site during the years of testing rocket engines is perchlorate, a
rocket fuel oxidizer that interferes with normal thyroid functioning,
particularly in fetuses and young children. In 2000, while Lockheed
Martin successfully lobbied the federal Environmental Protection Agency
to set high levels for acceptable perchlorate contamination, a group of
San Bernardino County citizens suffering thyroid cancer and other
disorders sued Lockheed Martin, asserting that perchlorate came into
area water supplies from a now-closed plant.

Lockheed Martin’s refusal, or inability, to explicitly identify which
chemicals might have been dumped in Bonny Doon, or to assume the
responsibility for proactive test wells, leaves residents in the
unfortunate position of having to wait for something bad to show up, or
bear the burden of research and testing, which includes wading through
the County Environmental Health Dept. 1,800-page Hazardous Materials
Management Plan of possible chemicals Lockheed might have used,
guessing what to test for, and paying for the tests themselves. After
over three years of Lockheed Martin officials deftly answering while
not really answering CCALM’s questions, it seems the only other hope is
for a former employee to come forward and substantiate the
long-standing rumors of toxic dumping at the site.

Sign Up for Better Emergency Protection

As you read this, residents throughout Bonny Doon are knocking on doors
and holding meetings to gather signatures on petitions to create a
Bonny Doon Fire District (BDFD). There are also petitions available for
signing on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Tuesdays and
Wednesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the McDermott Fire Station at
the corner of Empire Grade at Felton Empire Grade/Ice Cream Grade. If
no one has yet reached you to ask for your signature, you may go to the
fire station to sign. Creation of the new district is aimed at
reducing emergency response times, gaining local control over how our
taxes for emergency and fire protection services are spent, and
improving training, recruitment and retention of our volunteer
firefighters. Currently, the Bonny Doon Fire Team works under the
direction of the Santa Cruz County Fire Dept., which contracts with the
California Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) for services.
Even if the new district is created, CDF would continue to be
responsible for fighting wildland fires.

If 25% or more of the Bonny Doon voters sign the district formation
petitions, they will be submitted to LAFCO, the Local Area Formation
Commission, which will study the proposed district, hold a public
hearing, and make a recommendation to the County Board of Supervisors,
which must approve it. LAFCO can either recommend approving the
district as submitted, reject it, or suggest changes, such as a
revision of the proposed district boundaries.

If the Supervisors approve the new district, funding for it must be
approved by Bonny Doon property taxpayers. Currently, approximately
6.75% of our property taxes go for emergency and fire protection
services, and this won’t change. In addition, we also pay a special
fire protection district tax, CSA 48, which now averages about $111
annually per property. If approved by a 2/3rds vote, CSA 48 will be
replaced by a new district and somewhat higher tax levy,(the exact
amount will be on the ballot), according to Tom Scully, Bonny Doon Fire
Team board chairman. This will go to hire paid firefighters and improve
services, begin building a contingency fund for such things as
new equipment, and pay a stipend to the volunteers, who currently
receive nothing but the community’s gratitude for their invaluable and
excellent service.

Supreme Court Chops Down Big Creek Suit

Just as we were going to press, the California Supreme Court decided
against Big Creek Lumber Co. in its longstanding lawsuit to reverse a
County ordinance that restricts logging and related helicopter
operations‹to land zoned for Timber Production.

Big Creek’s suit has been dragging through the courts in the seven
years since the County passed the ordinance. The decision affirms
counties’ rights to decide where logging can take place, even though
the State has control over how it may be done. The decision will have
implications for logging operations throughout California.

New Watershed Concerns and Next Tour

Laguna & Majors Creeks have seen a major increase in dirt bike and
mountain bike activities the past few months. Unauthorized recreational
use, accessing trails leading into the undeveloped areas of Gray
Whale/Wilder State Park from Smith Grade, has begun to affect topsoil
and is eroding slopes leading into the watersheds. The areas being most
affected by the increased off-road traffic are largely in the
previously untouched areas north of Smith Grade. Permanent trails are
quickly being established which cross upper watershed streams.

State Parks doesn’t have the facilities or personnel to monitor
recreational use of the area. Development funding that would create a
more sustainable trail system is not in the budget. Concerned community
members will need to think about ways to work in this area with State
Parks. The summer cycle of dry weather conditions and slowly
diminishing stream flows offer the community a chance to get out and
learn how local creeks change with the season and continue their cycle
of fostering local plants and animals. Come join the Watershed Council
for the next field trip to the fresh water lagoon at Laguna Beach.
Hikers will again be joined by a couple of biologists to explain the
natural phenomenon of the summer season sand bars which dam Laguna
Creek and create a unique salmon nursery in the expanding lagoon. The
hike will leave on July 22 promptly at 10 a.m. from the parking lot on
the north side of Highway 1 at Laguna Creek Road. For more information
contact Ginger and Karl at 427-1034.

MAIL Service: How Low Can We Go?

Just when it seemed Bonny Doon mail service was making a comeback from
its lowest levels (most noticeably with the addition of a former USPS
employee as a contract carrier on one of the Empire Grade routes),
arrests were made on mail theft charges for a substitute carrier on one
of our contract routes. The RBDA Board has been in communication with
Representative Anna Eshoo and Kim Fernandez, USPS District Manager, to
express our community’s concerns about this latest incident.

Specifically, we have requested that USPS maintain the same standards
for contract carriers and substitute carriers as they do for USPS
carriers, requiring any person delivering mail, whether it be the
primary contract carrier awarded the route or any substitute carrier
they use, to have verification and background checks, plus USPS
training and certification. The current lax standards with
regards to contract carriers leave our community to bear the burden of
disrupted business, identity theft, actual theft, credit problems, and
disrupted utility service as mail is stolen, lost, mis-delivered, or
not delivered at all.

In response to a letter Eshoo sent on our behalf to Fernandez about the
substitute carrier’s arrest, Fernandez stated that he will continue to
"monitor the situation". To express your concerns directly to
Fernandez, address them to United States Postal Service, Kim R.
Fernandez, District Manager, 1675 7th Street, Oakland, CA, 94015-9967.

UCSC’s Troubles Accelerate

The shocking and sad suicide of UCSC Chancellor Denice Denton on June
24 leaves UCSC leaderless at a crucial crossroad, faced with a
community increasingly united in opposition to its huge growth plans,
undermined by a fractious faculty, attacked by student protesters, sued
by neighborhood activists over environmental degradation, and tarred by
media stories about Chancellor Denton’s expensive and frivolous home
expenditures and the cushy job given to her domestic partner.

Hopefully, the UC Administration will look long and hard for a new UCSC
leader with the skills to negotiate a mutually beneficial solution to
the town-gown confrontation and the many other problems besetting the
City on a Hill. The recent tragedy of Chancellor Denton’s suicide
follows the scandal of her predecessor MRC Greenwood, who was forced to
resign the number two position in the UC Administration, making the
selection of the next UCSC chancellor especially critical.

Meanwhile, the Santa Cruz City Council is advancing a referendum slated
for the November ballot that will demand UCSC pick up the tab for the
infrastructure improvements required by the university’s growth. Even
more important for Bonny Doon, the referendum directs the City to deny
sewer and water services to the planned extension of the campus beyond
the City limits into the Cave Gulch area of Bonny Doon.

Bonny Doon's voice in preserving our special quality of life, The Highlander,
is mailed free to Bonny Doon residents prior to the RBDA General Meetings,
which are usually held on second Wednesdays of
January, March, May, July, September and November.
We encourage you to participate.

Send mail correspondence to the Highlander Editor at the above
address, or by email, below.